Sweet love: the effects of sweet taste experience on initial romantic perceptions

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Ren, Dongning;Tan, Kenneth;Arriaga, Ximena B.;Chan, Kai Qin
Abstract

Terms of endearment such as "sweetie," "honey," and "sugar" are commonly used in the context of describing romantic partners. This article explores how a relatively subtle manipulation, namely taste sensations, might influence romantic perceptions of a nonestablished relationship. Consistent with predictions, results from Studies 1 and 2 (n = 280) showed that participants evaluated a hypothetical relationship, but not an existing relationship, more favorably when exposed to sweet taste compared to non-sweet taste control. Study 3 (n = 142) further showed that participants indicated greater interest in initiating a relationship with a potential partner when exposed to sweet taste, as compared to control participants. Implications for the role of sweet taste experiences in attraction and relationship initiation are discussed.

Journal

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Volume

32

ISBN/ISSN

1460-3608

Edition

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Issue

7

Pages Count

17

Location

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Publisher

Sage

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Publisher Location

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Publish Date

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Date

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EISSN

N/A

DOI

10.1177/0265407514554512